


Reminiscence

by octopuppy



Series: Soulbound [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, but let it be known, link is in love with zelda but that doesn't come into play in this fic, young Link - Freeform, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 17:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21122888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octopuppy/pseuds/octopuppy
Summary: Things that technically never happened still carry weight. A young Link tries to recover from what he's seen knowing no one else remembers.





	1. Shadows

There was a flash of light. The last thing he remembered was an encroaching darkness and a haunting cackle. And the moon. Oh, god, the moon. Its pained grimace covered the whole sky. A distorted purple face with golden eyes loomed over him, tendinous limbs bursting from it with a sickening squelch. Lurching toward him, it began to shake, slowly at first, then faster as it came within inches of his face, the smell of rot permeating his nostrils.

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

Link’s eyes shot open as he lurched to a sitting position, left hand white-knuckled around his gilded sword. Blood rushed in his ears as the fading demented laughter was replaced by a chorus of crickets and frogs. He whipped his head around wildly, greeted by a gorgeous night sky full of constellations and a peaceful meadow surrounded by lush, green woods. The same he had stopped to camp in just hours ago. A deep sigh left his lungs, quieting his small, shaking body.

The journey from Termina back to Hyrule was a long one. Link had been moving through dense forest for miles and it didn’t seem as though the thick foliage was relenting in the slightest. Sitting in the dark beside his dying campfire, he set his sword aside, fumbled for his canteen and took a drink of spring water left over from his visit to the Deku Palace. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his shivering subsiding. Returning to Hyrule was weighing heavily on his mind, just as much as the horrors of what he had experienced abroad. 

Link looked down into the remaining embers of his fire. Some part of him clung to the hope that Zelda had sensed something familiar about him. Still, his longing for the connection they once had couldn’t outweigh his concern for her happiness. That concern is what sent him away to Termina, along with the desperate pursuit of a long-awaited yet short-lived friendship with his former companion, Navi. But the boy who long awaited a fairy wasn’t a kokiri, and the fairy who came couldn’t stay.

He took another sip of spring water and gripped the front of his tunic tightly. As he discovered, Navi was not in Termina. After the Lost Woods, he had no leads on her whereabouts. He had resigned himself to never seeing her again. Then, more recently, he and Tatl parted ways when she was reunited with her brother Tael and Skull Kid was released from the mask’s curse. As for Zelda… He winced at the thought. Her expression of earnest surprise during their most recent meeting was endearing, but not encouraging. Still, she wasn’t the least bit afraid of a strange boy sneaking into her home. She was either naive (entirely possible considering her age) or she somehow inherently knew he meant no harm. He desperately hoped it was the latter. Link’s grip on his tunic tightened, his chest aching for the loss of his friends. 

Link peered over at Epona’s sleeping form, silently deciding to get some rest before further traversing the forest. If not for himself, for her. He took a final sip from his canteen, sealed it, and lay back down in his bedroll.

The gentle sounds of the wind helped him drift off, but as soon as sleep embraced him it was shattered, the frenzied cackles of Koume and Kotake ringing in his ears; he leapt to his feet with a yelp. Panting and shaking, their voices faded to nothing as he became excruciatingly aware of his isolation in the deep woods. 

He slowly sank to his knees, head in hands. He let out a quiet moan but cut himself off when he realized Epona was shuffling towards him in concern. He lifted his face towards her, reaching for her mane with a choked sob. His last episode had woken her up. Link rose to his feet, buried his face in Epona’s neck and gently stroked the white blaze on her forehead. After a while, he pulled back, keeping a hand on her neck.

“You’ve gotten enough rest to move a little, right?” Link asked quietly. She chuffed in response. He gave her a firm nod, wiped his face of tears, and packed his things. It didn’t take long; he always traveled light. 

He had ridden another three hours until the landscape became familiar. The trees gradually tapered off and Link could see a vast drop off in the distance. Termina was beyond the western border of Tabantha, across a gaping chasm. There were a handful of bridges, but most of them were either destroyed or controlled by monsters. 

Even with Ganon sealed away, some residual darkness remained. Not even the all-powerful goddesses could rid the world of his corruption entirely. Thankfully, the few creatures that still existed were feeble in comparison to the beasts under Ganon’s reign. In a way, he empathized with them. He, too, was confined to a world he didn’t belong in, adrift between timelines. He lacked purpose the same way they did. Still, his pangs of pity never lasted long. Beings of pure malice needed to be exterminated, no matter how well he related to them. 

He’d cleared a sturdy bridge weeks ago on his way through and was pleased to find it remained as he had left it. The peace wouldn’t last, but it almost made him feel as though he made a difference in this reality, too.

Link’s jaw popped as he yawned for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. He took it as a sign to finally try and rest. He had crossed into Tabantha a little more than an hour before and the red sunrise was beginning to peek over the top of the horizon. He slept easier in the light these days anyway. 

He pulled Epona off the side of the trail, moving a safe distance away. Link tucked both of them behind a grove of squat trees and unloaded his horse of weight, but he took nothing out but his bedroll. He wouldn’t be stopping for long.


	2. Light Breaks

When Link awoke, it was midday. He silently cursed himself for oversleeping and was on his feet in a flash. He rolled up his bed and whistled for Epona to come closer. She was a few yards away, chewing on a patch of scrubby grass. That was the best option she had. This part of Tabantha was too close to the sandy gorge; its soils were largely inhospitable. Epona responded to his whistle with a low whinny, trotting over to him good naturedly. He stashed his bedroll neatly in her sidepack and pulled out a slightly wilted carrot.

“Here, I know it’s not much. I owe you.” He leaned in close to speak to her, pressing his forehead against her neck for a second. He then stood up straight, gave her the carrot, and climbed on. Link got her to gallop, but not without resistance. She was tired of the extended traveling. She wasn’t alone; Link was developing a permanent case of saddle soreness although, funnily enough, Epona wasn’t wearing one.

They rode for about an hour until they came to a fork in the road. He brought Epona to a stop, hopping off and guiding her to the tall green grass off the side, which she instantly grazed on. Link felt terrible, he had packed light for his journey and didn’t bring enough for Epona as he should have. He silently decided to let her graze until she seemed satisfied.

They had passed through the sandy ground on the western border and reached the fertile soil Tabantha was known for. The region was known especially for growing massive amounts of wheat. The whole of Hyrule received most of its nourishment from this one area. They had stopped at the top of a medium sized hill that gave Link a breathtaking view of the rolling hills. He regarded the area appreciatively, spying some large wheat fields in the distance, and sat in the lush grass with a tired sigh before digging his weathered map from his pack.

From where he was now, he had two choices. He could flank Hyrule castle to the south, which was a slightly longer distance, or he could go north, passing directly by the Lost Woods. He chewed his lip. It didn’t take him long to decide to move south. At the moment, he would travel for days extra to avoid looking upon the impossibly thick foliage of the woods again. It was too much for him at the moment. Now that he knew he wasn’t a kokiri, he felt like an intruder. He still had a treehouse there, but by now it had been abandoned for months. Any valuables he owned were always on his person, so it’s not like he had to go back.  
He heaved a heavy sigh, his shoulders drooping slightly. It would be hard not seeing Saria again, but he couldn’t return. The kokiri could be notoriously childish, as they were literally eternal children. He couldn’t handle any more questions (no matter how innocent) about when his fairy would come and he definitely couldn’t stand Mido the self-appointed kokiri leader’s mockery any longer. If he tried, Link might actually stab him.

Link’s ears perked at the sound of hoofbeats. He was somewhat surprised; there weren’t typically travelers in these parts. He turned his head to see a man with a hood pulled over his face approaching him on horseback. Link faced forward again, attempting to avoid contact as usual. He heard the horse’s steps slow and grit his teeth slightly, dreading the impending social interaction.

“Hey, boy,” the man called out to him, but Link gave little sign he was paying attention.

“Is there a town nearby?” The man asked gruffly, noticeably angered at having been ignored.

“No,” Link replied simply, staring down at the large map draped across his lap.

“No houses neither?” At that, Link turned and looked him in the eye.

“Don’t think so,” he responded coolly, eyes sharp. The man stepped down off his horse. He was taller than Link first thought. The top of Link’s head only reached the bottom of the other’s sternum.

“I like that filly, boy. I like her a lot. Pretty red color. Very rare,” the man jabbed a thumb at Epona, who had stopped grazing and was watching him cautiously.

He started towards her when Link leapt to his feet. The map fell to the ground, forgotten. The man scoffed as he surveyed the small Hylian boy. Link’s ice blue eyes flashed with rage as he drew the gilded sword and wielded his shield, directly challenging the would-be thief. 

“You’d better rethink this, little long-ears. Don’t be stupid and I’ll let you live.” The man’s large hand came to rest on the sword fastened to his hip.

Link bristled at the racial comment; his left hand gripped his sword painfully tight. He set his jaw defiantly and set his feet shoulder width apart in a fighting stance without a word. The man laughed darkly.

“This could have been easy, you know.” He drew his sword as well. Link rotated his sword in his hand impatiently, an uncharacteristic aggression radiating from his body. Blood rushed in his ears as he watched his opponent raise the heavy weapon.

Link smirked. Too slow. In a flash, he ducked under the man’s non dominant elbow behind him, dodging the large blade entirely. He slammed the hilt of his sword against the man’s ribs earning a loud grunt of pain in response. He rotated the rest of the way and hopped back a few steps as the man whipped around, snarling. Epona neighed in alarm.

When the man completely faced him, he slashed a long, shallow line diagonally across the other’s chest. The man dropped his sword as Link pointed the razor sharp blade to his throat, pale eyes ablaze.

“Go.” Link hissed through gritted teeth, “and leave your sword.”

The wind rustled the prairie grass softly. The man dropped his weapon and its sheath onto the damp soil. Without a word, he shuffled back over to his horse, both his pride and his body wounded. Blood colored his sliced shirt.

He sheathed his sword when the man had left his sight. He glanced down at the much larger blade. He could always sell it. He could use the rupees, he mused. Being an unknown hero didn’t pay. He picked up the sword, sheathed it as well, then tied it to his pack on the ground.

Link remembered suddenly that he had been mapping his route when he was so rudely interrupted. He scampered over to the spot he had been sitting before. The map was gone, swept away by the wind. He let out an extended groan before trudging over to his pack, fastening it to Epona, and mounting her. Luckily, he roughly remembered the route he had planned to take. He clicked his tongue and Epona took off running with a slight whinny. He soothed her with one hand, the other lightly holding onto her mane. They still had a considerable distance to travel. Link silently prayed that they’d avoid any more trouble. He just wanted to get home safe, wherever that may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this seems unfinished, it's because it's a part of a much, MUCH larger series in the making. Stay tuned if you want. Thanks for reading.


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